On Feb. 21, 2018, Cindy Porter, Vice President for Student Affairs sent an email to the student body announcing that Manhattanville will be cutting ties with Wells Fargo Bank and will introduce Westchester Bank to campus.

“Westchester Bank will provide the community with ATMs in two convenient locations, Benziger Hall, lower level, and a new location- the Spellman Hall Lobby, near Public Safety beginning February 23, 2018,” stated Porter in her email.

Manhattanville will be providing on-campus bank representatives for the convenience of the student body to help students set up accounts and ease the transition to the new bank. Westchester Bank has made it clear that they are interested in coming to campus on a regular basis to help students to open accounts, particularly international students opening accounts with domestic banks. Westchester Bank is very dedicated to the convenience for that live far away.

PHOTO CREDIT: JESSICA COWLE

Wachovia Bank was originally partnered with the school but was sold to Wells Fargo in 2004. Since then, Wells Fargo provided the school with accounts payable, paystubs, handled checks and direct deposits with student workers.

Erik Paulson, Vice President of Finance, explained that in September, Wells Fargo “said that they were distancing themselves from the smaller higher education market, so they would be cutting ties with all schools and wanted us to find a new bank immediately.”

Once Wells Fargo asked the school to transition, the Director of Purchasing and Staff Accounting met with various banks in the area and discussed which bank would be the best for Manhattanville.

“We went through a bidding process, inviting local and national banks and put together bids on the services. Three banks responded; Westchester had the best package,” explained Paulson.

The transition from Wells Fargo to Westchester Bank is still in the process of completion. As of right now, there are two bank accounts open so that checks written to students during the pay periods can still be drawn from Wells Fargo.

The school is also still in the process of transferring money from the Wells Fargo account to Westchester Bank.

Paulson explained that he is very confident that Westchester Bank was the right choice. “They are certainly dedicated and interested in growing their business. I expect them to be a visible presence on campus,” said Paulson

Overall, Westchester Bank is expected to be a good fit to our campus, “we liked the idea of working with a local bank,” stated Paulson. The local bank will provide students with two ATMs, and the opportunity to speak with representatives on campus about having their first bank accounts.